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A few things really matter in this recipe. Using a GOOD chunk of chocolate. Hand chopping the chocolate. And finishing with a pinch of flaky sea salt. There are 1000000000 recipes for chocolate chip cookies and I’ve tried all of them. Ok, I’ve tried many. If you like more of a thin and crispy chocolate chip cookie, I have a recipe for that here. This cookie is chewier, chocolatey-er, and the salt give it an extra layer of flavor. Definitely my new favorite. I got the chocolate at whole foods. It wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it. I like to make one tray of cookies at a time and freeze the rest.

A few notes about the recipe. Ive forgotten to add the turbinado sugar and it comes out just fine. Its not crucial to the recipe, although the addition does give it this nice unexpected crunch. Ive baked right away and also let it rest in the fridge overnight. The flavor does get a bit deeper with the overnight resting period, but not significant enough to do it every time. t freezes well. You can scoop out balls of dough and freeze them individually or just freeze the whole hunk of dough at once.

With a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), cream the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl as you go. Continue mixing on medium speed while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, do not overmix. Chop the chocolate into chunks about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Its ok if some of the chocolate crumbles into a dust. You can add that too. Note: A good serrated bread knife really helps cut through the block with ease, but any knife will do. With a spatula fold in the chocolate. Scoop tablespoon size balls of the dough onto a baking pan fitted with parchment paper or a baking mat. I love my silpat baking mats. Bake at 360 for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle a very fine dusting of good quality sea salt. Fleur de Sel is my favorite. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes and serve warm with a shot of espresso.

Truth be told I’ve made a lot of waffles the past few weeks. First there were these, they were easy and came out just fine. Then I made these, which were good as well, but required a lot of butter and didn’t really have the crunch I wanted. Then I found this recipe here, and these were the clear winner. They’re light, fluffy and slightly crisp on the outside. Separating the eggs and beating the whites really makes all the difference. If you don’t have time for that, I recommend this recipe, but beating the whites is really worth the extra effort. Double the recipe if you’re feeding more than three people. This makes about 10 waffles on my press.

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks

2 egg whites

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup canola oil

In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly, stir in milk and oil. Add egg yolk mixture to the dry flour mixture, stir until just moistened and still lumpy. Now beat the egg whites in a stand mixer or by hand in another bowl until stiff peaks form (when the tips stand straight up.) Heat the waffle iron. Then gently fold the egg whites into the egg and flour mixture using a spatula. Make sure to do this very gently leaving pockets of fluffy egg whites. You want to retain the air in the mixture so it will stay fluffy. Do not over mix. Spoon the mixture into the waffle iron and serve with real maple syrup, butter, fruit, ice cream or whatever your heart desires!

This is a new weekly staple at our house. Im so into easy recipes with minimal ingredients. I pretty much always have lentils, brown rice and onions on hand and that’s the basis here. You could serve this as a side dish or a main course. I like to serve it with a quick pickled cucumber salad. It would be nice with a spiced roasted chicken and some sautéed greens, but I’m perfectly happy with a bowl of this on its own.

Bring water and bullion cube to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. You can also use chicken or vegetable stock. Add rice, lentils, and bay leaf and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until rice and lentils are tender, 35–45 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let sit 5–10 minutes (there should still be some broth remaining). Discard bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Set rice mixture aside.

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cumin seeds and toss to coat. Cook, stirring often and adding water to pan as needed to prevent burning, until onions are golden brown and soft, 20–25 minutes.

Mix half of onion mixture and half of herbs into rice mixture; season with salt and pepper. Top mujadarra remaining onion mixture, and remaining herbs, and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Sweet and spicy, you can serve this dish hot or cold. Add shrimp or chicken to make it a more elaborate affair. The more sriracha the better.

1 tbsp coconut oil (or any cooking oil you prefer)

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp red pepper seeds

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp sriracha (more if you like it spicy)

1 tsp cornstarch

6 oz dried organic soba noodles

2 carrots julienned

1 small green zucchini julienned

1 purple onion sliced very thin

2 scallion stalks chopped finely

In a small bowl mix together the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sriracha, cornstarch and red pepper seeds. Whisk the cornstarch and continue mixing until it’s completely dissolved. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the soba noodles and cook for 3 minutes (or one minute under directed cooking time), until the noodles are a bit under cooked. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat. Stir fry ginger and garlic for about a minute or until golden. Add the carrot and onion and stirfry for about 5 minutes. Add the soba noodle and a tiny bit of sauce to the pan. Use tongs to move the noodles and veggies around the pan, to mix everything together. Add the remainder of the sauce and zucchini to the pan. Continue stirring to coat the noodles and veggies with the sauce. Cook until the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste and adjust the sweet/spicy ratio to your liking by adding more sriracha and/or brown sugar.

Garnish with scallions and chopped cashews, serve hot, cold or at room temp!

So…. my good friend was gifted a box of Harry and David Royal Riviera Pears. She’s more of a wine person, than a box of Pears person. So she secretly left them in my car. Ive never baked with Pears, but I was inspired. Ive always wanted to do a galette with apples, so I thought this would be a nice twist.

The dough is identical to any pie dough- which comes together in seconds in a food processor. Slice up the pears, roll the dough out and you have an impressive dinner party desert. I was shocked at how amazing this was. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Pulse the flour, salt, sugar, and butter in a food processor until crumbly. Slowly process in 1/3 cup of ice water just until it comes together in a dough. If necessary, add the remainder of the water. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the fruit.

Thinly slice the pears about 1/4-inch thick and toss with the lemon juice, brown sugar, flour, and spices. Take the dough out of the fridge and gently roll out onto a lightly greased large round pizza pan, or rectangular baking sheet, until it’s about 12 inches in diameter and 1/8-inch thick.

Lay the fruit out in overlapping circles or rows over the dough, leaving a small border, then fold the pastry up around the outer edges. Dot the top of the galette with cubes of butter, then mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle it over the top.

Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until browned and crispy on the bottom. Cool to room temperature or serve slightly warm!

Its cold season and I’m now sick for the second time in a month. Im over chicken soup at the moment so this recipe was created out of the dire need to load up on veggies and vitamins. You can use whatever combo of vegetables you’re into, the stock is pretty easy to make from scratch, but you can also just use pre-made veggie stock as a shortcut. Just make sure to add some garlic, ginger, soy and miso to add depth to the flavor. Fresh Ramen noodles are definitely the way to go here. I got mine at Mitsuwa. If you can’t find fresh, call it a day and use the $.25 packet from the bodega- but toss the powdered broth.

VEGGIE STOCK

1 tsp of peppercorns

a pinch of sesame oil

3 tbsp soy

2 tbsp spicy chili bean sauce

2 tbsp white miso paste

salt to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

6 whole garlic cloves

1 onion, quartered

1 bunch scallions, ends trimmed, chopped in half

1 inch cube of ginger, cut in quarters

6 cups of water or broth

RAMEN

2 carrots julienned

1 small green zucchini julienned

1 red pepper julienned

2 scallion stalks chopped, both whites and greens

1 cup of corn

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 package of fresh ramen noodles (if you can’t find fresh, use the dried packets but toss the seasoning)

1 garlic clove sliced into thin rounds

1/4 tsp hot pepper seeds

olive oil

sriracha to taste

Heat oils, garlic, ginger, onion quarters, scallions, peppercorns in a heavy pot over medium heat. Sizzle veggies in the pan for a minute or two. Add water and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 minutes then reduce heat to a simmer, add soy and chili bean paste and simmer for another 30 minutes. Remove from heat strain vegetables and discard. Stir the miso paste into the hot broth. Taste broth and adjust soy, miso and chili and salt sauce to your taste. The broth should have a depth of flavor and you should want to eat it on its own. If the flavor hasn’t developed add a pinch of salt and cook for a bit longer.

Prepare all the veggies and place them in individual piles on a large plate or platter so that you can add them into the broth individually when it is time. Meanwhile, bring another large pot of water to a boil for the ramen noodles.

When the pasta water has come to a boil add the ramen noodles and cook for 2 minutes (or 1 minute less than package directions), be careful not to over cook! You want the noodles to be a little less than al dente so that they will be perfect once the hot broth is ladled over them. Drain noodles, rinse with cold water and set aside.

In a small saute pan heat the olive oil over medium. Add the hot pepper seeds and garlic. Toast the garlic until nice and golden. Remove from heat before it browns. Strain the oil and set aside for garnish.

Add the carrots and the peppers to the broth, cook for a few minutes, until slightly softened but still crisp. Then add the green onion, and corn, cook for another minute. Divide noodles between 4 soup bowls and set to the side.

Add the zucchini to the broth, then ladle the veggies and broth over the noodles in the soup bowls and serve immediately. Garnish with toasted garlic and pepper seeds, cilantro and sriracha pepper sauce to taste.

NOTE: You can easily swap the veggies to your specific tastes. Bok Choy, Bean Sprouts, Spinach, Mushrooms, etc.. all work well. Use the broth as a base and then mix up the veggies and garnishes with what you have on hand.

A simple egg scramble for a simple sunday morning. You can pretty much use whatever cheese or greens you have on hand but I love this particular combo. You could use a nice irish cheddar, gruyere or swiss. Spinach or kale would work well too.

ARUGULA + AGED GOUDA SCRAMBLE

Two handfuls baby arugula

6 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup finely shredded aged gouda cheese

1/2 tsp cracked pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

drizzle of olive oil

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a non stick pan over medium heat. Add Arugula to the pan and cook for 1 minute stirring until it wilts. Add beaten eggs, salt and pepper to pan and reduce heat to medium low. Stir eggs constantly, making sure pan does not get too hot. As the egg begins to cook, add cheese. Continue scrambling until eggs are light and fluffy. Remove from heat while eggs are still slightly moist but fully cooked.

I wanted to create a vegetarian version of this classic. This soup manages to be warm and fresh all at once. Perfect for this transitional time between seasons when its starting to get a bit cooler outside, but there is still an abundance of summer vegetables at the market. Because its a vegetarian soup, I added a lot of spices. Don’t skimp on the spices. Add them in the beginning, with the onions and garlic to release the most flavor. The dried ancho chile adds depth and that signature smoky flavor in tortilla soup. Also, toppings are super important here. At the very least you MUST have avocado and tortillas. The chopped cilantro and lime add a bit of freshness and the cheese is totally optional.

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add chopped green and red peppers, sauté for another 2-3 minutes and add spices. Mix until combined, add chopped ancho chile, also adding any extra liquid that has collected in the chile from soaking. Add tomatoes and a bit of chopped cilantro and cook for another 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until flavor has developed and vegetables have softened- about 45 mins-1 hour on a low simmer. Taste and add/adjust spices. Add black beans and frozen corn and cook for another 10-15 mins.

So easy to make. You’ll never need to buy the box again. Feel good knowing your pancakes didn’t come from a factory. Serve these to your loved ones on a lazy Sunday morning… With organic maple syrup of course.

HOMEMADE BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

-2 Cups all purpose flour

-1 3/4 Cups almond milk (regular milk is fine too)

-2 Tbsp baking powder

2 eggs beaten

-1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

-3 Tbsp sugar

2 Tsp Vanilla extract

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 pint fresh (or frozen) blueberries

Mix dry items together in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl and slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Whisk together until combined. Heat skillet to medium. I use a nonstick skillet and prefer not to grease the pan. Let batter mixture rest 5-10 mins while pan is heating. Pan is ready when water droplet sizzles on the surface. Pour mixture onto pan then add a handful of blueberries, spreading evenly throughout. Cook for a few minutes, the pancake is ready to flip when bubbles have formed and the batter begins to firm up. Flip pancakes only once, cook on the other side until golden brown. Remove from heat and repeat until batter is gone. Adjust heat as necessary if pancakes are cooking too fast or slow.